Facebook launches official iPad app

Facebook has finally launched an iPad app to access the popular social networking site on Apple’s tablet. The highly anticipated app was released with little fanfare as only a press release introduced it to the world.

The idea of an official Facebook app for the iPad has been swirling around the rumor mill for well over a year now and we are surprised that it took this long for the company to deliver. Multiple unofficial apps are available and users can simply access the site via the web, but now that there’s an official app, what does it look like?

The app is virtually identical to what was leaked online a few months ago when code for the tablet version was released inside the iPhone version. The right side panel contains a list of everyone online available for chat while the middle and left side are one large area used to display your news feed. Swiping your finger to the right in the news feed will slide the chat list away, revealing a menu bar on the left that displays things like favorites, apps, groups and a search bar.

Across the top of the app is a blue bar similar to the desktop version that contains a dedicated button to access the menu bar, friend requests, messages and notifications.

The iPhone app was also updated with very similar functionality and a near identical layout, although admittedly this works much better on the iPad’s larger screen.

You can pick up the new app through Facebook’s website or on iTunes right now.